Page 178 - Free the Idea Monkey

Results
• How much does each initiative drive ROI (return on innova-

tion) portfolio management (revenue, margin, time in market)?
• Which metrics will keep you focused and make your declara-

tion a reality?

THE FRUIT OF YOUR DECLARATION
President Kennedy made a declaration

and NASA helped see it through. And there
were countless benefits as a result. We’re sure you’ve heard of Tang
and maybe even Tempur-Pedic®, but everything from better water
purification systems to improvement in the flight of golf balls can be
traced to work initially done in the space program.

And admire them or not (I choose to admire them), both Bill Gates
and Sam Walton made the lives of hundreds of millions of people bet-
ter. For your country, and your company, you need to create an inno-
vation program that is both daring and tracked closely, otherwise
you will just join the long list of people—many presidents among
them—who made sweeping announcements that were doomed to be
forgotten because nothing was done to ensure they happened.

Mr. President, may we suggest a “Director of Homeland
Innovation?” Please?

DO IT! (NOW!)
There has never been a better time to innovate. However, it takes

an entrepreneurial mind-set.

Consider:
• Matt Kuttler, known for building a promotional products

business, is now reinventing the way small business supplies
are purchased at ReStockIt.com.
• Rick Jamieson, known for building accounting businesses, is
now bent on creating the greenest brake pad company at
ABS Friction.

163C H A P T E R 1 1